Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Falls to No. 15 Tennessee

News release from Texas A&M Athletics:

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M women’s basketball team fell to the No. 15 Tennessee Lady Volunteers, 91-78, after a valiant second-half comeback to open SEC action Thursday night inside Reed Arena.
Texas A&M (7-6, 0-1 SEC) was led by Aicha Coulibaly who scored 16 of her 20 points in the second half and Lauren Ware grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and swatted three shots. The Aggies posted a season-high 29 points off turnovers and shot 56.0% from the field.
Tennessee (13-0, 1-0 SEC) raced out to a seven-point lead after the first 10 minutes and then ballooned that advantage to a 48-21 count at the half.
The Aggies came out of the locker room on fire, compiling a 7-0 run in the first 1:16 of the third quarter. Electric play from redshirt freshman point guard Erica Moon helped Texas A&M win the frame 27-19 behind her two steals in the period. Sahara Jones led the team with nine points in the third and went 7-of-8 from the line.
The Maroon & White finally cut the lead to 10 with a triple from Taliyah Parker in transition with 6:35 left to play, but Tennessee scored back-to-back and ones to regain control, 79-64, with just over six minutes remaining.
Texas A&M was unable to inch any closer and fell, 91-78, to the No. 15 team in the country. The Aggies won the second half 52-43 but could not overcome the first half deficit.
The Aggies return to the court Sunday, Jan. 5 against No. 25 Ole Miss to continue the conference slate.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
  • The Aggies are now 8-12 against the Tennessee Lady Vols in the all-time series.
  • Joni Taylor’s career record moves to 175-113 all-time and to 35-39 in her three seasons with the Aggies.
 
TEAM NOTES
  • The Aggies shot over 50% from the field for the fifth time this year. The team is 3-2 in those outings.
  • The Aggies shot 56.0% from the field which was the second-best shooting performance for the team this year.
  • The Aggies scored 52 points in the second half, marking a new season high for points in a half this season.
  • Poured in a season-high 29 points off turnovers.
  • Texas A&M began with a starting lineup of Lauren Ware, Solè Williams, Janae Kent, Sahara Jones and Aicha Coulibaly (6-3).
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Erica Moon
  • Recorded season highs in points (6) and minutes played (18).
  • Led the team with three steals matching her career high.
Sahara Jones
  • Came up one point shy of her career high in points (17).
Lauren Ware
  • Had three-or-more blocks for the sixth time this year.
Aicha Coulibaly
  • Scored 20-or-more points for the third time this season.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Joni Taylor
On the adjustments made in the second half …
“Thinking back to the first and second quarters, we gave up wide open threes to shooters, turned it over and let them offensive rebound. We came in at halftime and said we have got to try and make them play as late into the shot clock as possible to force them to run some offense. I thought when we did that it gave us a chance to get out and run. I thought our changing defense kept them uncomfortable and made them figure out what we were in. They have great size, great speed and they are a really good team.”
On the Aggies’ growth as a team…
“We had opportunities that we let slip through our fingers. Give Tennessee credit, every time we made a run, they responded. Whether it was an offensive rebound, getting fouled or making a big three, they responded every single time. That’s what really good teams do and that’s where we have to get to. I’m proud of our progress and our growth. With the little time we have had together now, and with everyone as healthy as they can be right now, there were some signs out there tonight of some things we can work on and continue to get better at.”
 
Redshirt Senior Aicha Coulibaly
On the intensity and mindset moving forward into conference play …
“We played a lot of hard games in [non-conference], and we know what the SEC is like. We have to match that [intensity] every single night and in our next game. We have to be ready, take care of ourselves and come ready to play.”
 
Redshirt Freshman Erica Moon
On the Aggies’ boost of momentum in the second half…
“It was very encouraging. I think we stuck together regardless of what was going on. We talked in the locker room about what mistakes we were making in the beginning. I think us sticking together was the best thing to keep us alive.”

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